Starting last wednesday I've felt...weird. Super tired (like, 2 weeks into ranger school or pldc tired), kinda groggy all day like I took a late afternoon nap and never fully woke up after... pretty much all day wednesday to now I've felt like that.
On Thursday I fell walking across the living room, and again going from the garage to my truck. Friday, fell again. No warning, no vertigo, no dizzyness. Just walking normally when I noticed the ground/wall/pickup side coming at me.
Didn't loose consciousness, didn't blackout. Nothing abnormal except for the falling.
Saturday morning, happened again. Wife said go to urgent care and have them check me out...Urgent care PA said, basically, "yeah, weird. Not sure what's up, but you need to go to the ER so you can get a CT scan..." I asked him if he had any idea what a CT scan would cost? "no sir, I really don't, but you have blue cross, so it shouldn't be bad."
Went to the ER, where they checked me in, gave me a gown, had me change, and then a chest xray (in case fluid build up was hurting breating/oxygen), EKG (doc said it was perfect), and then a CT scan (again, nothing found).
After all of this- maybe 20-25 minutes of actual services and talking w/nurse and doc, I waited for almost 3 more hours for the doc to come back and say, "Yeah, we can't find anything, but your heart seems fine, your ct shows no tumors, a real head scratcher. I'm referring you to neurology monday."
5 minutes later, admin lady comes in and gives me the preliminary bill: $8500 (aprox) total, with my part being $4900 (aprox) after insurance does their part (we hadn't met our deductible up to that point, for the year). At which point, I stood up, dropped the gown (in front of admin type and my wife). Wife, "What are you doing?"
"Getting dressed and leaving. For that kinda money, I"m not staying a minute longer. I wasn't in distress. I wasn't suffering anything acute or severe, wasn't bleeding out, wasn't in cardiac arrest, fib, or ANYTHING that could reasonably be considered an emergency- or whatever, but not a single freaking person in this place even HINTED at what this might cost. Not a peep. Just 'do you have insurance? Oh, blue cross, ok, and thank you' and then kept ordering more tests and costing us money. I thought, maybe they'd say electrolytes, or low iron or quit jerking off so much, or something. I KNEW I should have waited until monday. SCREW THIS! " She tried to calm me down, but to no avail. I dressed and started walking out.
Got out of the ER entrance and a sheriffs deputy standing by the temperature checker put his hand on his pistol butt, extended his left hand towards me, and asked if I was ok.
"Yes sir. Just fine," as I pulled the little ekg tapes, pulled tape covering the cannula in my left arm (they took blood and left the cannula in case of more draws or if I needed an IV, etc), and started to pull the cannula.
"Sir, let's get a nurse- Are you trying to leave? Were you admitted to the ER? What room are you in, do they know you left?"
"No thank you. No, I'm not trying: I'm leaving. Yes. No idea. My wife sure as hell does. SHE's still in the room, probably waiting for some kind of permission to leave. Me? I'm not going back unless I'm forced to." (as I checked off each response with a dropped finger, counting down his questions)
"You need to be discharged before you leave, sir." "Unless you arrest or detain me, I'm leaving. I will comply with your instructions if either of those are the case. Otherwise, I'm leaving."
Nurse at the entrance asked me to sit down so she could pull the cannula, which I did, and she did.
Never raised my voice in any of the above- the capitals were the parts of sentences I put emphasis on. Never yelled. Nothing like that. I'm sure my face was a mask of anger and determination, though, because I was PISSED. After she put a bandaid thing on my arm, I stood up and asked the officer if it was ok if I leave? "Yes sir."
Went and sat beside my wife's car and waited for her.
Created a huge argument with my wife. Embarrassed her. Worried her.
I know I'm a cantankerous semi-old fart, but that entire situation was simply too much for me to accept like a meek kitten.
On Thursday I fell walking across the living room, and again going from the garage to my truck. Friday, fell again. No warning, no vertigo, no dizzyness. Just walking normally when I noticed the ground/wall/pickup side coming at me.
Didn't loose consciousness, didn't blackout. Nothing abnormal except for the falling.
Saturday morning, happened again. Wife said go to urgent care and have them check me out...Urgent care PA said, basically, "yeah, weird. Not sure what's up, but you need to go to the ER so you can get a CT scan..." I asked him if he had any idea what a CT scan would cost? "no sir, I really don't, but you have blue cross, so it shouldn't be bad."
Went to the ER, where they checked me in, gave me a gown, had me change, and then a chest xray (in case fluid build up was hurting breating/oxygen), EKG (doc said it was perfect), and then a CT scan (again, nothing found).
After all of this- maybe 20-25 minutes of actual services and talking w/nurse and doc, I waited for almost 3 more hours for the doc to come back and say, "Yeah, we can't find anything, but your heart seems fine, your ct shows no tumors, a real head scratcher. I'm referring you to neurology monday."
5 minutes later, admin lady comes in and gives me the preliminary bill: $8500 (aprox) total, with my part being $4900 (aprox) after insurance does their part (we hadn't met our deductible up to that point, for the year). At which point, I stood up, dropped the gown (in front of admin type and my wife). Wife, "What are you doing?"
"Getting dressed and leaving. For that kinda money, I"m not staying a minute longer. I wasn't in distress. I wasn't suffering anything acute or severe, wasn't bleeding out, wasn't in cardiac arrest, fib, or ANYTHING that could reasonably be considered an emergency- or whatever, but not a single freaking person in this place even HINTED at what this might cost. Not a peep. Just 'do you have insurance? Oh, blue cross, ok, and thank you' and then kept ordering more tests and costing us money. I thought, maybe they'd say electrolytes, or low iron or quit jerking off so much, or something. I KNEW I should have waited until monday. SCREW THIS! " She tried to calm me down, but to no avail. I dressed and started walking out.
Got out of the ER entrance and a sheriffs deputy standing by the temperature checker put his hand on his pistol butt, extended his left hand towards me, and asked if I was ok.
"Yes sir. Just fine," as I pulled the little ekg tapes, pulled tape covering the cannula in my left arm (they took blood and left the cannula in case of more draws or if I needed an IV, etc), and started to pull the cannula.
"Sir, let's get a nurse- Are you trying to leave? Were you admitted to the ER? What room are you in, do they know you left?"
"No thank you. No, I'm not trying: I'm leaving. Yes. No idea. My wife sure as hell does. SHE's still in the room, probably waiting for some kind of permission to leave. Me? I'm not going back unless I'm forced to." (as I checked off each response with a dropped finger, counting down his questions)
"You need to be discharged before you leave, sir." "Unless you arrest or detain me, I'm leaving. I will comply with your instructions if either of those are the case. Otherwise, I'm leaving."
Nurse at the entrance asked me to sit down so she could pull the cannula, which I did, and she did.
Never raised my voice in any of the above- the capitals were the parts of sentences I put emphasis on. Never yelled. Nothing like that. I'm sure my face was a mask of anger and determination, though, because I was PISSED. After she put a bandaid thing on my arm, I stood up and asked the officer if it was ok if I leave? "Yes sir."
Went and sat beside my wife's car and waited for her.
Created a huge argument with my wife. Embarrassed her. Worried her.
I know I'm a cantankerous semi-old fart, but that entire situation was simply too much for me to accept like a meek kitten.